Validation of the Adult Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-4 (SASSI-4)

Abstract

Abstract. The study objective was to develop a revision of the adult Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-3 to include new items to identify nonmedical use of prescription medications, as well as additional subtle and symptom-related identifiers of substance use disorders (SUDs) and to evaluate its psychometric properties and screening accuracy against a criterion of DSM-5 diagnoses for SUD. Clinical professionals throughout the nine US Census Bureau regions and two Canadian provinces who used the SASSI Online screening tool submitted 1,284 completed administrations of the provisional SASSI-4 along with their independent DSM-5 diagnoses of SUD. Validation sample findings demonstrated SASSI-4 sensitivity of 93% and specificity of 90%, AUC = .91. Items added to identify respondents who were abusing prescription medications showed 94% overall screening accuracy. Logistic regression showed no significant effects of client demographic characteristics or type of screening setting on the accuracy of SASSI-4 screening outcomes. In Study 2, 120 adults in recovery from SUD completed the SASSI-4 under instructions to fake good. Sensitivity of 79% was demonstrated for the full scoring protocol and was 47% when only face valid scales were utilized. Clinical utility is discussed.

The Effects of Alcohol Consumption on Cardiometabolic Health Outcomes Following Weight Loss in Premenopausal Women with Obesity: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

“…The interview was used to identify barriers to participation in the study, including scheduling challenges, ability to attend appointments, etc. The Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI) [ 14 , 15 ] and Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) [ 16 , 17 ] questionnaires were administered. All participants were also screened and excluded based on the presences of psychological conditions that could interfere with the ability to adhere to protocol or indicate that participating in the research could be unsafe, for example, due to a history of substance dependence.…”

“…The inclusion criteria are as follows: (1) being willing to practice appropriate birth control, (2) being willing to eat at Pennington Biomedical Research Center (PBRC) at least 3 times per week, (3) beingwilling to consume alcohol (EtOH group), (4) being willing to abstain from alcohol (CTL group), and (5) being a daily or almost daily drinker, defined as typically consuming at least 8 drinks per week, but no more than 4 per day. Exclusion criteria included but are not limited to: (1) non-drinkers of alcohol, (2) habitual binge drinkers, defined by the consumption of ≥ 4 standard drinks per day or ≥ 28 drinks per week, (3) self-reported alcoholics or a history of alcoholism, (4) any attendance or inpatient stay for alcohol or drug treatment, (5) display any characteristic of current or future substance abuse disorders, (6) presence of any psychiatric, behavioral, or medical disorder that, in the opinion of the PIs, Co-Is, or MI, may interfere with study participation, the ability to adhere to the protocol, or has the potential for increased substance abuse, (7) prescription medications that interact with alcohol intake, (8) abnormal screening laboratory safety tests, (9) smokers, (10) diagnosis of Type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus, cancer, or major organ disease, (11) serious digestive disorders, (12) conditions that affect metabolism or body weight (i.e., uncontrolled thyroid conditions, bariatric surgery, pregnancy, breastfeeding), (13) hysterectomy and/or hysterectomy with bilateral salphingo-oopherectomy, (14) hormonal pharmaceutical contraceptives including oral contraception (birth control pills), injectables (Depo-Provera), or the patch (Xulane), (15) Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), and (16) use of medications that affect body weight or metabolism (i.e., atypical antipsychotics, weight loss medications).…”

Can Psychological Assessment contribute to a better world? Our discipline’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030

“…All these results inform policies and would not have been possible without psychological assessment. But besides that, psychology has been useful in reducing the number of road accidents (Jornet-Gibert, Gallardo-Pujol, Suso, & Andrés-Pueyo, 2013), substance abuse (Lazowski & Geary, 2019), or in explaining the role of individual characteristics in having good health and well-being (Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999;Roberts, Kuncel, Shiner, Caspi, & Goldberg, 2007;Soto, 2019). Importantly, psychological assessment provides the means to track such changes.…”

Twelve-Plus Years of Secondary and Tertiary Alcohol and Other Drug Use Prevention Programming on a College Campus: Making the Case for Risk-Matched Education

“…The first screening tool was the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI) [47]. The SASSI was updated to align with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders -5 [48], so the SASSI-4 was adopted, which was researched for its internal consistency and test-retest reliability by Lazowski& Geary [49]. The SASSI-4 was updated to include a scale for prescription misuse, and in general measures the probability of a substance use disorder (SUD), therefore screening for alcohol and drug use.…”